Re: I just got a text from AT&T what is this?

Oh and I just gotThis. So now they will cap my speed??? I never had this problem before and I am not using any more 3G data than normal . In fact it says 3.3 gb.

Like other wireless companies, AT&T is taking steps to manage exploding demand for mobile data. We're responding on many levels, including investing billions in our wireless network this year and working to acquire more network capacity.

As mentioned on a previous bill, we're also taking additional, more immediate steps to help address network congestion and improve reliability. One of these steps involves a change for some customers who use extraordinarily large amounts of data in a single billing period - about 12 times more data than the average smartphone user.

For the current billing cycle, your data usage indicates you could be affected by this change. Here's how it works:

Smartphone customers with unlimited data plans may experience reduced speeds once their usage in a billing cycle reaches the level that puts them among the top 5 percent of heaviest data users. These customers can still use unlimited data and their speeds will be restored with the start of the next billing cycle.

We're writing because you are in the top 5 percent of heaviest data users for this billing cycle. Because we recognize that data usage can change from month to month, you will not see reduced speeds this billing cycle.

Beginning with your next billing cycle, we'll send you a text message if you are approaching the top 5 percent of heaviest data users. We'll also send you a second text message if you cross into the top 5 percent of heaviest users, at which point you may see reduced speeds for the rest of the month.

Customers have several ways to manage extremely high data usage.

Wi-Fi offers great speeds and doesn't add to your wireless data usage. Consider using Wi-Fi when possible for applications that use the highest amounts of data, such as streaming video apps, remote web camera apps, large data-file transfers (like video) and some online gaming.

You may also consider switching to a tiered data plan if speed is more important to you than having an unlimited data plan. Customers on tiered plans can pay for more data if they need it, and will not see reduced speeds.

To estimate how much data different activities use, and find out more about Wi-Fi or tiered data plans, visit https://www.att.com/dataplans or call Customer Care at 800-331-0500.Paperless Billing

Re: I just got a text from AT&T what is this?

3.3 GB doesn't sound like too much to me. What about the people who are paying for the 4GB Data Pro + tethering plan? Are they going to get reduced speeds if they use the 4GB per month that they are paying for?

I can see if people are using 5 or 10 GB per month, but the 3.3 doesn't sound too high by itself. How many days into the billing cycle are you? If it's only like 10 days, maybe they are extrapolating usage to the end of the cycle.

Re: I just got a text from AT&T what is this?

Well, I see "unlimited" has a new Orwellian definition. I don't think 3.3 GB should come anywhere near surpassing "unlimited."

I've kept the unlimited plan at $30/month even though I have never come close to 2GB in any month. They seem to be fine with me paying an extra $5/month -- until I need it. This business of "you're in the top 5%" is unsavory at best.

Suppose my broadband service goes out for a week (it has happened)? Suppose I'm traveling and don't want to pay the high rates for hotel wi-fi? Suppose I go and stay with my aunt who has no wi-fi at all?

Re: I just got a text from AT&T what is this?

I suspect from their point of view, you are still getting "unlimited data". They aren't stopping it and you can still use as much as you want. There is nothing that says it has to all be at the same speed.

Re: I just got a text from AT&T what is this?

Myrtlemaye wrote:

Well, I see "unlimited" has a new Orwellian definition. I don't think 3.3 GB should come anywhere near surpassing "unlimited."

I've kept the unlimited plan at $30/month even though I have never come close to 2GB in any month. They seem to be fine with me paying an extra $5/month -- until I need it. This business of "you're in the top 5%" is unsavory at best.

Suppose my broadband service goes out for a week (it has happened)? Suppose I'm traveling and don't want to pay the high rates for hotel wi-fi? Suppose I go and stay with my aunt who has no wi-fi at all?

Not Orwellian at all. It means exactly what it has always meant. There isn't an amount of data past which you get charged for data usage. AT&T never claimed that the unlimited data plans meant a data plan that had absolutely no limits of any kind on it.

Re: I just got a text from AT&T what is this?

Gunrun911 wrote:Oh and I just gotThis. So now they will cap my speed??? I never had this problem before and I am not using any more 3G data than normal . In fact it says 3.3 gb.

You may also consider switching to a tiered data plan if speed is more important to you than having an unlimited data plan. Customers on tiered plans can pay for more data if they need it, and will not see reduced speeds.

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Re: 3.3 GB--unlimited users should heed this as a rough watermark as to how much data you need to use before you hit the top 5% of heaviest data users.

Re: switching to a tiered data plan--proof that it's not so much that you're using lots of data but rather, you're being "penalized" for using lots of data on an unlimited plan. AT&T's own words pretty much bear this out--as long as you're willing to pay for data usage, they don't care how much data you use. Theoretically, a tiered plan user could use 10 GB (or more) of data and--most likely, if we were to take AT&T's word about not seeing reduced speeds if on a tiered plan--not be throttled, whereas an unlimited user could use even as little as 3 GB and potentially be throttled--how's that for a bit of irony?

Re: I just got a text from AT&T what is this?

The problem is that "top 5%" is a moving target. No one knows when they might join that group and it will change daily.

AT&T has a less incentive to improve capacity, and they now have a nice strategy to push customers who are grandfathered into the unlimited plan to move to a tiered plan. That's really what's at work here.